Question of the Week: 75 - 1/14/2002So What Do YOU Think of the Pagan Web?What changes did you see in the Pagan Web last year? Were these changes good or bad? What do you hope to see happen or evolve on-line this year? What would you recommended to budding Pagan web weavers?

I used to love surfing the Pagan websites... but these days the pagan web looks like that opening scene from 'back to the future two'... Advertising everywhere. everything for price. Classes online? give me a break. I was raised to believe that teaching was free and always done face to face.

I think most of the pagan webmasters are getting lazy or losing interest, unless they get paid something for their work. The christians are big on selling their religion and apparently we are not different in this respect.

I hope this changes and the spirit of this community comes back out of the cash register.

I reccomend that pagan webmasters work on offering original material again. I miss the old pagan web, the one before the greed for my money was the key factor.

I didn't really notice any change, because I mainly stick with a few favorite websites and rarely stray, or pay almost no attention when the content or design doesn't satisfy me, that is, when I DO stray. Of course, with all the Pagan/Wiccan websites out there, there should be a little more interesting, or complete websites to visit. I'd like to see more websites concentrating on more precise topics as well as history and traditions (or at least what the people in those trads can share with others without breaking their oaths) and websites that allow people to voice their opinions, announce events and write essays and contributions (ahem, sounds like someone we already know *grins*). Anyhow, that would be all I have to say on the subject because I am not the best website designer in the world (and tend to lose interest really easily in such matter). Brightest Blessings...

In my area there was a great site that started last year, socalpagan.com - in which I've found a lot of info about festivals, rituals, and coffee-house discussion groups.

In all honesty, though, I don't have a lot of time to surf the web so right now this is the only site I visit regularly. I'm grateful to Wren for keeping her nest full of all those interesting articles... because of Wren's Nest I feel like I some idea of what's going on in the Pagan community across the US.

I think it would be great if there were more sites designed by Witches in different professions - i.e. a Wiccan Businessperson's site. I will start teaching public highschool in June and I have a fantasy about anonymously running a Wiccan Educator's site. I would post essays about the importance of separation of Church and State, the different challenges in teaching grades 9-12, and how I plan to use my spirituality to help me through those rough days. I would like to have a message board and hear from other Pagan educators across the US, across the world. Since so many Pagans are mostly-solitary, I think a lot of us who are also professionals suffer from the "double-life" curse. Meeting other professionals on-line would be nice.

The biggest difference over the last year has been my own change in perspective. I posted my own Pagan website, and doing so changed how I see the Pagan web.

Before, I had worked on / been involved with sites that were purely commercial (selling services and access to content) and that weren't Pagan in subject matter. And I took from that an attitude of expecting commercial grade excellence in any website.

That changed when I posted my own Pagan (and non-commercial) website. It was my response as a Pagan to 9-11: some essays and some spells; http://wiccans.com/host/john_littlew/. My objective was simply to have my say as a Pagan. So, I wrote the content, skipped graphics (that wasn't the point of the site), uploaded the pages, and posted links around the 'Net. And that was that. The site "design" was simple, sometimes pathetically. But I didn't care: it worked, and it loaded quickly, and it voiced my opinion - which was the goal.

And it dawned on me (duh!) that many other webmasters of Pagan sites may just want to do the same thing: have their say. I used to look down on most Pagan sites as little more than oversized graphics, SSDD or plagiarism for content, some ads, and a never-ending midi file. Sadly, that *is* the case for a lot of Pagan sites. But, making my own site that was bare-bones (to say the least) but genuine nevertheless opened my eyes to the many other sites than are the same. There are a lot of other sites which are just Pagans expressing themselves, and they can be appreciated as such.

(There are treasures, like Witchvox, that are exceptions to the rule -they do have original, exclusive, regularly updated content within excellent site design; but as exceptions, they tend to also prove that rule.)

Long story short:

I'm not surfing the Pagan web with an attitude of expecting commercial grade excellence. Instead, my attitude is now taking Pagan sites for what they often are: personal expressions by Pagans of their paganism, usually only good for a one-time read. And with that new attitude, I can avoid the junk and still find an amazing amount of *personal* excellence out there on the Pagan web.

Blessed Be.

--John

I Notice A Couple Of Things.... More Sites Which Are Group Trying...

Jan 18th. at 2:15:24 pm UTC

Ember (Salisbury, Maryland US)

Age: 24

I notice a couple of things....

More sites which are group trying to get organized at a local or state level and all ingeneral more profestional sites. I also see growing communication and participation between such groups.

Back in 1995 when I first got on the web most Pagan pages were personal home pages, which are naturaly still around, but we are much better organized into groups now. More real life events going on.

Oh, The Pagan Web Has Major Issues With Sucking. I Only Go...

Jan 18th. at 3:04:11 pm UTC

Sepra (Tucson, Arizona US)

Age: 22

Oh, the Pagan Web has major issues with sucking. I only go to three or four sites anymore, (here, glasstemple.com, whywiccanssuck.com) and that's kinda sad. As a webmaster myself, I think Wiccans had a great potential to have an awesome web-base, but is kinda getting swept away as the rest of the net moves forward in quality of web sites.

hmm...i think that the "pagan" web hasnt changed much...im an Odinist (not to be to confused with Asatru) in the East Coast and i am heathen or pagan to get technical, and i dont see anyone trying to unite pagans as in getting them together because i know alot of witches, and so on who dont know anyone of their religion, and i my self dont, they know other pagans but it does interfear with the ceremonial concepts. i think the pagan web should start going threw all religions and not basing on the majors. so we all can be brought together not just the ones who are strong.~~~Adam "Vallghar" callahan

Parents Your Offspring. You Don't Move That Much So Nobody Else Moves...

Jan 20th. at 5:10:05 am UTC

David (OZ, North Carolina US)

Age: 3

Parents your offspring. You don't move that much so nobody else moves what do you expect? You have proven Wren and Fritz that you cannot offer distance healing that works. Very few put up anything in the annoucement section for it. You highlight some healing requests for people to do what? To fill a need that you cannnot provide. With your resources of people if you cannot get a group who can really heal at a distance then admit it and stop the lies. You don't believe that much so you put that into others. (In the whole occult community you cannot put together a group that can heal at a distance somethings wrong.) You have to deal in the practical Wren, every day stuff. You explantions are nice but unless you provide details people will not move. Show people going through all types of problems and by using the resources in there community how they got help. Everyones moving from you thought stream Wren and Fritz. I've got the supplies out of the box but I've not yet begun.

One Good Thing I've Noticed On The Web In The Last Year...

Jan 20th. at 5:01:48 pm UTC

Hearthstone (Calumet, Michigan US)

Age: 39

One good thing I've noticed on the web in the last year or so is the increased presence of non-Wiccan websites and mailing lists. Not that there's anything wrong with Wicca, of course, but the Pagan community is so diverse, and it's wonderful to see that different Pagan and Heathen religions are being represented in greater numbers. It's also good to know that those seeking these non-Wiccan Pagan paths will have an easier time of it now.

The Web Has Become Hugely Popular Amongst Pagans, And I'm Glad To...

Jan 23rd. at 10:15:30 pm UTC

Mellee (Auckland, New Zealand)

Age: 18

The Web has become hugely popular amongst pagans, and I'm glad to see it! Yahoo now lists pagan sites up front, and we are the second biggest category (after Christianity).

The bad news is, most sites out there are on some form of witchcraft, and tend to be a bit shabby - they repeat info on other sites, break copyright, have a hideous design etc.

The huge amount of message boards and lists is terrific!

I'd like to see more sites with a specific purpose, and an improvement in the look & feel.

Kudos to people like the PWA, PWAT, and PIDEA for their hardwork in educating the pagan site creators out there.

I think there is a great deal of community growing in this website. I feel that there needs to be more information on various pagan religions on the site. Perhaps Vox community meetings for major states. Say that a particular time, particular place, particular day, people can meet and enjoy each others company - without having to worry about meeting people one on one, but rather group.

One meeting place per city. They can be held at a park, or near a school (so the youth can go there maybe after school if they don't have a car). It is a good concept that hackers (not saying I know anything about them ;) ) have used for years and years. They call it "Social Engineering Groups".

I hope one makes good use of this thought. Perhaps if we (as a community) make a fuss about this idea, that Vox and their affiliates have no choice but to post meeting places.

The Pagan web has grown quite large in the last year, unfortunitly, some of the sites are still in infancy. Also, Pagan humor on the net always seems to include those bloody lightbulb jokes!:) I'd like to see more humor and current news. There are over a million Pagans in America today, and we still seem to be in the shadows. For the newbies, I recomend oddball searches. "Pagan" brings up all sorts of stuff, but see how many sites you get with "Horned Lord, Cerrenunos"

Website structure, evolution and php coding by Fritz Jung on a Macintosh G5.

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